I first read The Lord of the Rings during a summer semester at college. Since then I've probably re-read the trilogy 20 times, not including reading The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, Lost Tales, and JRR Tolkien's letters. It is my favorite book of literature; a story of courage, friendship, and ordinary people achieving the extraordinary.

So when my latest Pocket Spirit got a curly hair style from some mohair boucle yarn I have, she told me in no uncertain terms that she was a Hobbit, and by jove, she was indeed :-)

So here meet Violet Willowdown and Rose Fernbrake, two dear Hobbit children. I used the camisole pattern for the bodice of their dresses, and made their skirts from some lovely fabric that was a gift to me from Stepheny at Katie What Can You Do. Stepheny has a delightful blog, and is a very dear person of great insight.

And this is Ivy Heathertoes, wearing another sweet combination of crochet and fabric. The pattern for the bodice and dress is here:

This is a beautiful 5x9 hex lampshade made of paper on styrene. It is a Paris Expo map laced to the frame with organza, and the shade is a clip top. The gorgeous paper is by Cavallini - textured image, vintage map of 1889 Paris Expo and Eiffel Tower.

How to Enter:

Visit Brenda's shop, pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it.

Open to US residents.

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

The good thing about growing older is realizing how much you have to be thankful for.

I hope all of you take time to pause for a moment and count the blessings in your life. There is grief and joy in every life; may we have the strength to endure the grief, and the gratitude to acknowledge the joy.

Now is the time we start thinking about holiday gift giving, and what better place to shop than from a Minnesota seller on Etsy. Sue Pariseau Pottery is a good place to find beautiful things.

I like to give (as well as receive!) gifts that are useful. Sue has some lovely works of art that are also useable and durable.

One of the coolest inventions ever created is the butter bell. Sue Pariseau Pottery offers a butter keeper that will not only keep butter fresh and creamy, but will also look classy on the dinner table.

I am obsessed with vintage/retro chairs. Thankfully, I’ve managed to keep my obsession under control by choosing to focus on photographing them, rather than buying them. (Otherwise I’d be the crazy lady with piles of chairs artfully stacked in her back yard!) When I have a weekend that’s full of boring chores and errands, my little creative treat is to hop in the car with a camera (preferably an instant camera of some sort), and drive down University Avenue to see what some of the stores in the St. Paul Retro Loop have out for me that day. And I’m usually not disappointed, even in the dead of winter!

My trips aren’t always of the drive-by variety. I will occasionally step inside, and marvel at the mid-century goodness. One day I bought the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, circa 1968, at Succotash, thinking that it’d be a great source of collage material. But I just cannot bring myself to cut up this treasure-trove of fifties and sixties interior decoration: the palette (including tarnished old gold and brown!), the textures (wood paneling, faux brick walls, velvet davenports!), the apparent lack of interest in windows and natural light (depressing!). And there’s an ashtray on every table for Pete’s sake! I’m not cutting that baby up.

I digress… If you need a vintage pick-me-up, check out the St. Paul Retro Loop. There are 5 stores (Lula, Succotash, Up Six, Classic Retro @ Pete’s and Swank) that are stocked with tons of inspiring goodies!

Congratulations to our latest giveaway winner! Thanks to all who entered and we wish you good luck with this week's giveaway!

Today we bring you this fun family set of All Natural Corn Bags from Margie of WarmHugsCornBags!

Family Set of All Natural Corn Bags

Corn Bags are an all natural way to relieve stress, tension, muscle aches and pains. They are made with 100% cotton fabrics and filled with only the highest quality clean whole corn. Corn Bags can be used for both warm or cold therapy. Heat your bag in the microwave and they will stay warm for up to an hour or store it in the freezer and use it as an ice pack.

Fun, easy and completely portable! Use on aches and pains, as a bed warmer, stomach aches, cramps, stress and tension pain relief. Feels great after outdoor winter activities like sledding and skating or use as a cold pack to ice injuries, fevers or little bumps and bruises.

Visit Margie's shop, pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it.

Open to US residents.

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

The works-in-progress from a couple weeks ago are now clad in their Victorian finery. The pattern for all of these delightful little dresses is an Annie Potter Presents leaflet entitled "Victorian Darlings." To fit the Pocket Spirits I used size 20 crochet cotton or size 8 perle cotton and a size 7 crochet hook for the dresses. The sweet little boots were crocheted just as the pattern called for, with size 10 crochet cotton. This pattern book is out of print, but if you do a Google search, you may come up with some used copies that are available.

Abby and Meghan

Felicia

Catherine and Bearable

Rebekah

Felicia in her nightgown

I did work out a couple of patterns specifically for the Pocket Spirits. The nightgown above is one of them; you can download the pattern here:

So, all this time that I was in my writing Carlsbad Caverns, I accumulated a bit of news. We're seven weeks out from Unearthly's release on January 4th, and it seems like every few days something amazing happens. Reviews are pouring in like crazy on Goodreads, people are pre-ordering the book on Amazon, and all kinds of fun stuff like the completion of the book trailer is happening in the meantime. So keep checking back, because these things are all going to go live very soon.

The rights to Unearthly have sold in a number of foreign countries, bringing the total list up to:GermanyPortugalSpainPolandthe UKand Australia/New Zealand, which will publish in January as well, with this lovely cover:

Squee! I love my US cover oodles, but the Aussie cover really took my breath away! Just look at that smoky forest!

This past week a few of the big reviewers have run their reviews of Unearthly, and they've all been positive.

Kirkus Review said:After receiving visions of saving a teenage boy from a forest fire, 16-year-old Clara Gardner (one-quarter angel-blood), her half-angel mother and her younger brother relocate from their suburban California home to Teton County, Wyo., so Clara can find this mysterious boy and realize her angel purpose. Despite the ever-growing surge of angel stories and its hefty length, this solid debut novel stands out with even pacing, fully developed characters, vivid descriptions of the West’s rugged beauty and Clara’s independent spirit. As she learns more about her gifts and angel lore—particularly fallen angels known as Black Wings—from her evasive mother and a fellow angel-blood classmate, Clara struggles with her mother’s expectations of her purpose (is she just a heavenly puppet?) and her desire to acknowledge her human side (does she have any control of her own life?), as well as her feelings for both Christian, the boy from her visions, and rodeo star Tucker. The cliffhanger ending, with an unexpected twist, leaves plenty to ponder until the sequel. A divine supernatural romance. (Paranormal romance. YA)

And Publisher's Weekly also gave Unearthly a STARRED review, which is beyond awesome.

I've sent my draft for Book 2 to my editor now, which means I'm no longer caught in the tunnel vision of writing all the time--so I can actually pay more attention to all this stuff. I know I've said this before, but it's incredibly surreal. Yesterday I was chatting with fellow debut writer Courtney Allison Moulton, whose book Angelfire is coming out this spring from HarperTeen, and she said, "When are we going to wake up?" I knew exactly what she meant. This feels like the best dream ever.

by Rita Wetzel,RitasCreationsOnETSYNovember 20th is fast approaching and that means you're in for an exciting day of shopping at the HandmadeMN Market at the Ballentine VFW. Our vendors are madly performing their magic transforming fabric, wire, beads, paper, photos, paints, tiles, wool, and all other kinds of raw materials into fabulous handmade products!

Not only are our team members busily preparing for the market but they have also been very generous in donating their handmade goodies for our Giveaway Baskets and Swag Bags. Take a look at these donations!

The TCWitchcraftFactory creates "everything and anything that improves your home life and outlook!" You will find these hand-carved stamps in the Gift Baskets and the mini cards in the Swag Bags - the 1st 25 visitors will receive a Swag Bag full of assorted handmade creations from our team members.

These amazing rings and pendants are fashioned by KellyBot! Buttons have never been in better hands - Kelly's creations are so very beautifull!

LittleBigPants delights all with her handmade creations for the sophisticated child! These fabric ornaments and postcards will be making an appearance in our Gift Baskets and Swag Bags!!

SacredSuds makes divinely inspired handmade soaps! The mission of SacredSuds is to "provide soulful soaps that help channel positive energies into your life". And, just take a look at these hand and shower bars that will be making an appearance in our Giveway Baskets and Swag Bags. Awesome!

This is a set of ten assorted greeting cards, all done in a similar color scheme of browns, blues, and pinks. The fun set includes one anniversary card, one thank you card, one wedding card, two sympathy cards, three birthday cards, one congratulations card, and one baby card. Most of the cards are blank inside, ready for your personal message.

Open to US residents only.

How to Enter:

Visit Created by Kristen M and pick your favorite item and leave a comment on this post about it. (Scroll to bottom of post and click on Comments)

Please make sure we have a way to contact you!

For Bonus Entries:

Please leave each in a separate comment, as each comment is an entry (To qualify for extra entries you must do step one above).

1. Visit other HandmadeMN team members shops (listed in the sidebar here) and leave a comment(s) here with your favorite pieces.

2. Blog about this giveaway with a visible link back to this posting and comment here with a link to your post.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment(s) with a link to your tweet(s).

4. Follow our blog (you want to do this anyway to learn about upcoming giveaways!). Leave a comment here letting us know you are a follower. If you are already a follower, leave a comment anyway, as each comment is an entry.

Just in time for Christmas :-) Here is a picture tutorial for making a very simple and inexpensive doll bed for your favorite girl. The bed requires no woodworking skills (I certainly don't have any), and uses inexpensive wood turnings available at any craft store. I purchased most of my pieces from Michaels. Here is the link to the picture tutorial to make this bed: